Chapter 7
The Race
When Rosemary opened the door, Nicholas stood there cross-armed before her. “You’ve been home for over a month now, nearly two, my dear. Don’t you think the time has come for you to rejoin the world?”
She stood aside to let her father in, then shut the door behind him. “I’m just not ready to see all those people yet.”
The old wizard sank into the sofa beside the door and crossed his ankle over his knee. “All those people? You mean your family?”
She collapsed into the safety of his arm and rested against his shoulder. “No.”
Nicholas smiled and kissed the top of her head. “Daniel?”
Just the mention of his name sent a chill through her shoulders, and she nodded against his chest. “Yes.” Her eyes glanced up at his, and she tugged at his long, dark hair. “Did you know who he was when he came here?”
He pulled her a little closer and nodded. “As soon as he mentioned you. I could see on his face he was yours.”
“I’m afraid when he finds out what happened to me” — she shifted uncomfortably and blinked away toward the balcony — “he won’t want me anymore. I don’t think I can take the heartbreak. Not now.”
“Rosemary, my sweet girl” — Nicholas turned her toward him and wiped the tears from her cheeks — “Daniel coming here the way he did was a miracle. He is a warlock of power like I’ve never seen. No one is blind to what’s happened to you, least of all a man like him.”
He slid his hands up around her cheeks, then pressed his lips to her forehead. “Daniel is here in this world because of you. Since he stepped foot through the veil between our worlds, his every waking thought has been you. He will not abandon you, no matter the struggle. This I am certain of.”
His eyes narrowed, and he nodded to the door beside them. “The boys are out for the day on patrol. Let’s go for a ride. Jarl has missed you, and the fresh air and sunshine will serve you well.”
A hint of the girl he once knew came back to Nicholas as she bit her lip and nodded. “That does sound good.”
***
Rosemary nuzzled the horse’s dark face along her cheek and grinned as all her memories came flooding back of the simple days of her life before Earth. “I’m sorry I’ve been gone so long; I’ve missed you too.”
Jarl was at least a few thousand years old, and a prince among his species. A fierce warrior stallion, but to Rosemary, Jarl was as gentle as any soft-bodied old nanny. Although, deep inside his wise, old horse’s mind, Jarl hoped Rosemary would charge him headlong into a good battle.
Even though Rosemary was no warrior, having eight older brothers taught her more than any guard training ever could, and when she strapped the sword to her back and mounted her horse, she felt her power returning.
For the first time in months, the stiffness in her neck and shoulders relaxed as she rode the cares away, and Jarl made for the open meadow.
While they trotted past the city’s gate, Nicholas glanced over to Rosemary. “I might even let you win this time.”
A glimpse of the girl he knew before she left home smiled back at him. In all the years she’d been alive, she’d never beaten her father. “You always say that.”
Nicholas shrugged his shoulders as his eyes traveled up to the clearing they were approaching. “I meant it then, and I still do. Only you decide when that happens.”
They readied their horses at the starting line separating the lush forest from the grasslands and stared each other down. As Nicholas raised his pointy black brow, he nodded, and the race was on.
The fresh air and sunshine swept over her face and through her hair, and Rosemary could feel the darkness lifting from her chest and mind. Her auburn locks whipped behind her like a banner in the wind, and the air of excitement beat against her face.
Exiting the South forest after their patrol, Daniel and the brothers came upon Rosemary and Nicholas racing in the distance along the creek, sectioning the meadow.
Seeing Rosemary and Jarl gaining on their father, Agamori pulled the reins and laughed. “Well, look at that. I believe she may beat him this time.”
Daniel’s hands trembled as her racing heartbeat pulsed through his fingers. The bond between them left him unable to control himself and was the best kind of magic. He felt her in his soul, and as she giggled out into the distance between them, Daniel knew joy for maybe the first time in his life.
Watching them beat across the meadow, neck and neck, the fair-haired Uzzi yelled out to them. “Show him no mercy, Rosemary.”
While her hair waved in the wind, the direction it flowed in drew Mage’s attention. He pushed his dark hair off his shoulder, and his eyes widened when he noticed a squadron of goblins appear from the peak. “Over there.”
Daniel heeled his horse and rode the stallion hard toward the unsuspecting father and daughter as the brothers followed along behind him.
The old warhorse sensed the oncoming attack and stopped with a jolt, then raised onto his hind legs to prepare for the clash.
When Nicholas noticed Jarl’s sudden disappearance from his side, he glanced over his shoulder and saw the goblin herd nearing. “Rosemary, ride for the woods now.”
Rosemary tried to make Jarl respond to the command. Still, he refused to retreat and stood tall against the coming intruders as he insisted in his unforgiving horse way that Rosemary answer the call with him.
A rage like Rosemary never knew before pooled inside her belly. Daniel’s rage. Hate dripped off him and was thick in the air. The heat of his emotions surrounded her like a blanket, trying to keep her warm and safe. Feeling more mighty and alive than she ever had, Rosemary pulled the sword from behind her back.
The men were still too far, so Nicholas drew his sword and came to her side. “I’m with you. Stay close.”
Jarl reared up to his legs, then stomped down on the first goblin that tried to land its blade into Rosemary, crushing him between his hooves. As the next dirty, foul monster attacked, Rosemary swung her sword and claimed his arm for the dark force that took her over.
While the air around them boiled with Daniel’s hate, the breath from her lungs was sucked away, leaving Rosemary breathless and gasping for more.
An arrow passed by Nicholas’s head then stopped and fell to the ground when it hit the invisible wall.
Rosemary’s eyes darted around before her as the goblins stopped their attack and backed away when the riders arrived at the skirmish.
Nicholas turned to find Daniel standing behind them, black-eyed and his fingers ablaze with blue flame. As he watched the Firestarter work his magic, the ancient wizard instantly understood what Daniel was now and forgot about the fight going on around him.
The dark spirit’s hand lifted into the air, and every creature fell into a pile of ashes where they stood when the shock wave covered the hillside. Death’s foul, sweet smell wafted through the air as the flames consumed every dirty, stinking creature it met.
Daniel’s arms were like wiggly puddles of mud that fell to his sides when he pulled the flames back and stumbled backward as exhaustion set in. Since he first let Rosemary into his mind, he’d been able to light the fires a few times, but never like this. It drained every ounce of strength from him.
With the danger fading into the smoke-filled air, Daniel turned around to find her and looked up to see the entire family staring at him in amazement.
He ignored their awestruck looks and his pride and raced to Rosemary. And his shaking hands pulled at her skirt as his eyes searched for wounds. “Are you alright? Did they hurt you?”
Her teary eyes blinked her out of her trance, and her head shook from side to side. “No, I’m fine. Are you alright, Daniel?”
Her touch was the only thing to comfort him, and his forehead sank into her thigh. Soft throbs left his throat as he shuddered against her. The Healer placed her hand on Daniel’s head, then combed through his messy black hair with her fingers. “You saved me, Daniel.”
Nicholas smirked at the two of them, then nodded toward the woods. “Let’s leave them alone. I think it’s safe to say that he can get her back home alright.”